Match Me: HS Junior from Midwest interested in math and music [3.95 UW GPA, 1520 PSAT, FGLI]

Chance Me / Match Me
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Demographics

  • US domestic
  • State/Location of residency: Indiana
  • Type of high school: Non-competitive public
  • Other special factors: first generation, low income

Cost Constraints / Budget
Good financial aid for both in-state and OOS students is the only constraint.

Intended Major(s): Pure Mathematics, potential minor in cello performance (if offered)

GPA, Rank, and Test Scores

  • Unweighted HS GPA: 3.95
  • Weighted HS GPA: 4.56 (APs, Honors, Dual-Credit weighted at 5.0)
  • PSAT Score: 1520

HS coursework (anything with [Senior year] is projected schedule for next year)

  • English: Pre-AP English 9 & 10, AP Lit, [Senior year] AP Lang
  • Math: Honors Pre-Calc, AP Calculus BC (grade 10)
  • Science: Honors Bio, AP Physics 1, AP Physics C, [Senior year] AP Chem
  • History and social studies: AP World, APUSH, Econ, Gov
  • Language other than English: Current H French IV, will take AP French
  • Visual or performing arts: Advanced Orchestra (9-current), [Senior year] AP Music Theory
  • Other academic courses: AP CSA, AP Seminar, [Senior year] AP Research

College Coursework (Dual Enrollment)

  • Major preparation course work: Honors Multivariate Calc, Intro to Proofs, [Senior year] Real Analysis I, II & Abstract Algebra I,II

Awards
JKCF Young Scholar
AP Scholar with Distinction
National Recognition Program (First-Gen)
National Merit Semi-Finalist+ (pretty much guaranteed by my PSAT score)
School Math League Champion x2
State Solo & Ensemble Gold Medal x5
School Academic Varsity Letter
Music Varsity Letter x3

Extracurriculars

Orchestra [10hrs/wk] - principal cellist of Symphony, Jazz, and Pit, All-State cellist, 5 gold medals at state-level solo and ensemble contest
Math League [1hr/wk] - school-level math contest (~low AiME level), scored highest score in school x2, first freshman to win in school history, first defense of title in school history, State Top 20 x2
Student Voice [3hr/wk] - school student council, student rep freshman year, class secretary 10-11th, promoted school spirit, organized major school events like homecoming etc., managed school social media account for outreach
UCSB SRA (2023) - Track 4 (Moral Mining), worked w/ team of 3, produced 5000-word research paper on analyzing relationships between group dynamics in subreddits with moral attitudes, used advanced Python programming, statistics, and linear algebra etc. to extract necessary data
YYGS (2024) - Innovations in Science and Technology track, attended lectures on STEM topics, took seminars on Abstract Algebra and Graph Theory, small research proposal w/ team of 5 on comparing LLM models’ outlooks on morals
Link Crew - helped organize freshman orientation, mentored group of 25 freshmen w/ team of 4, academic tutoring and check-ins throughout academic year
NHS - standard member, volunteering at food shelters, tutoring etc.

[definitely not guaranteed, but I am applying for SUMaC, PROMYS, and Ross this year if that might be a hypothetical you’d want to explore]

Essays/LORs/Other
LOR - Math Teacher (9+/10) - taught me in AP Calc BC, oversaw my mathematical journey from 8th grade onward, sponsor of school Math League, pretty much lay witness to my math abilities and growth during HS, mentored me through dual-enrollment choices

I am a solid essay writer, if that helps much.

Schools
I have looked into in-state options that have a strong mathematics program alongside a renowned music scene.

  • IU Bloomington
  • Purdue [though doubtful about music scene]
  • Ball State

I’m also aware of big-name schools like Princeton, Harvard, Williams, MIT, Stanford, etc. for both math and music, but I also want to explore some good ‘match’ level schools with my stats and major goals to diversify the schools I apply to.

I want to maintain my involvement in music, and want to continue pursuing a high level of performance, but career-wise, I am looking into going into grad school for mathematics. I am open to any QuestBridge schools, or any schools outside of the network.

Thank you!

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Many on here will mention St. Olaf, Case Western, Oberlin, and more. Lots of schools meet need - and then you noted QB. I believe CW and Oberlin both are QB partners.

You might look at each QB school too - I’m sure others work as well.

Best of luck.

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Given how advanced you are in math, be sure to check the breadth and depth of upper and graduate level math offerings at schools of interest.

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This is a really smart approach. However, I do hope you take a shot at some of the more selective universities. I think your profile is terrific and you would be a legit contender.

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Congratulations on your achievements.

Will these schools be affordable for you?

You definitely should look at applying through questbridge. Run the NPC with your parents to make sure they would be affordable. Here’s Harvard’s: Net Price Calculator | Harvard

The issue with many match schools is that they won’t meet your full need. I second the recommendations that tsbna made, just note that Oberlin conservatory is not a QB partner (if that’s an issue), just the arts and sciences school is. Run the NPCs at any school you are thinking about.

What is your budget for college?

As a likely NMF, you should take a look at the schools that provide full tuition or full rides for NMFs: Big merit NMF/NMSF schools and their specialties

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Congratulations on a great score!

The majority of Semi-Finalists become Finalists. There are colleges that give large scholarships to National Merit Finalists. Tulsa gives a large scholarship to Semi-Finalists as well. The thread shared by @Mwfan1921 is a good starting point. It is in the College Confidential forum for National Merit Scholarships.

I am not the person to guide you with respect to music, but you should check out the programs at Alabama, Tulsa and UTD. All offer full tuition, housing and other benefits to National Merit Finalists.

Edit to add: Another school to look at is USC. They offer minors in music. Their NM scholarship is $20K/yr which isn’t much considering the high cost of tuition and housing. They participate in Questbridge so might be something to look at.

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The University of Oklahoma also has NMF scholarships, here: National Merit Finalist Scholarship. OU also has majors/minors in mathematics and music performance.

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It was mentioned already, but St. Olaf.

I was talking with a stats professor from Berkeley a couple of weeks ago, and mentioned some of the schools my kids ('25 twins, with stats like yours) are looking at, and the second I mentioned St. Olaf, the professor practically started glowing because he was so excited about the school. “If you’re interested in math and music, St. Olaf is where you go.”

Since you’re interested in grad school in math, check out the right-hand side of this list of math Ph.D. feeder schools, where you’ll see St. Olaf coming in at #10.

St. Olaf would be a “likely” for you (~52% admit rate), so since you’re actively trying to expand your list of less-rejective schools, I would absolutely add it if I were you.

On that list linked above you’ll also see Carleton coming in at #9. The two schools are in the same town, so if you go visit one of them, you can check them both out to see if the vibe feels better at one or the other. Carleton isn’t as known for music, and is harder to get into (~20% admit rate), but — like St. Olaf — also has great undergraduate teaching and a strong sense of community.

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As soon as I saw your interests I was hoping that you were from Indiana, because IU is incredibly well-suited to your interests. In fact, it reminded me of the violinist Corey Cerovsek (bio) who ended up doing dual bachelor’s and master’s degreees, and doctoral coursework in both math and music, all by the time he was 18. I don’t know if there are current legislative changes in Indiana for funding, but at least as of a year or two ago there were programs to help for in-state students, though I don’t know if it would be sufficient to meet your budget.

@Mwfan1921 is right about whether target schools will meet your budget, but I think that you should definitely check out U. of Rochester. It offers through a PhD in math and is also home to the famous Eastman School of Music. You may also want to check out Brandeis (MA) as another possible target.

U. of North Texas should be a shoo-in academically and also has a strong reputation musically and offers through a PhD in math. If you name it as your first choice, you’re eligible for a full ride here as a NMF (source). So if you are accepted into the music program, this could be an excellent safety for you to consider, if you would be happy to attend for four years.

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Since I am under Indiana’s 21st Century Scholarship program, the tuition and required fees should be fully waived, which would leave room and board. IU offers additional scholarships, and I think additional financial aid can be applied to offset some of those other costs as well, so I think in-state options are mostly okay. Running the NPC for IU and Purdue had me around $3,000/yr.

My parents said they could financially support me up to about $4,000/yr, which runs about the estimated costs after running the NPC at a few institutions.

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One thing about music and target / safety may be the audition - which could make a safety a reach.

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With an affordable in-state safety as excellent in your majors as IU is, really your list doesn’t have to have any “matches.” IU just sets a very high bar for quality. I am normally a big cheerleader for the schools that give big merit for NMF status, but in your case I do not think any of them have the potential to provide you a better education in your desired fields than IU. Nor do I think any so-called “matches” have that potential.

For students in your situation, the typical list-building advice that one must include some “matches” doesn’t really apply. Instead you can do well with a list-building motto of “Go big or go home” i.e. feel free to apply only to big reaches + your home flagship.

Obviously, if you don’t like IU for some reason, despite its excellence in your majors, then look for other schools to add. But otherwise don’t feel you have to. Because in your case a list of only Princeton, Harvard, Williams, MIT, Stanford +IU is a perfectly logical list.

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I totally agree with this. And I’d add Northwestern to the list of schools.

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And Hopkins/Peabody too - both JHU and NU are Questbridge schools. Maybe Vandy/Blair. Possibly Rice/Shepherd too, but they aren’t as dual-degree friendly; you’d have to apply as a music major, start out in the BMus, and then switch to the music BA and add the math major - they don’t admit directly to the BA program. And I’m not clear on how conservatory admissions dovetail with Questbridge.

Also CMU, which isn’t a QB partner but does meet need - their BXA interdisciplinary Bachelor of Science and Arts Program may be a fit.

Seconding (thirding/fourthing?) St. Olaf (cross-reg with Carleton further bolsters math offerings), URoch, CWRU, USC (although a QB Match scholarship may be the only path to affordability at USC - it appears that most QB RD admits are disappointed with their aid packages). Wesleyan could be worth a look. (Much stronger grad-level math offerings than most LAC’s, since they have a PhD program).

IU sets the bar high!

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Yale! Excellent music program, excellent academics, excellent financial aid. They have a BA/MM program, which you can mention in the “why Yale” essay.

I assume you already know about the Columbia-Julliard and Harvard NEC programs? FWIW, I have not heard good things about Harvard’s own AB music program: Reddit - Dive into anything

I do not think there is any LAC other than maybe Harvey Mudd (check out their math courses) where you would not feel constrained in terms of math courses at your level. The 5 college consortium in Massachusetts helps, but there is a limit of 2 courses at UMass per semester and the commute can be lengthy.

Speaking of Harvey Mudd: http://www.jointmusicprogram.org/

Aside from course availability, placement also matters - graduate classes will do you no good if you are stuck in an intro class (“honors” or otherwise).

One counterintuitive comment - depending on your skill level, you might have an easier time qualifying for a performance position at a school without a prestigious music program than at a school with one. You might not be able to out-audition the conservatory-level talents at some Ivies for the most prestigious orchestral positions, but you will most likely still be able to perform due to these schools often having multiple different ensembles/groups

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